Helen Clitheroe was born in Preston and is a member of Preston Harriers and is coached by John Nuttall. One of the stalwarts of the British team, Clitheroe represented Great Britain at the World Cross Country Championships for eight consecutive years, starting in 1998 and her best performance was finishing 19th in the discontinued short-course race in 2004. Having primarily found success over 1500m, Clitheroe has made the successful transition to the steeplechase, setting a national record in the heats of the 2008 Olympic Games.

In 2009 although over five seconds outside her British record pb, she was still number one in the Power of Ten by a massive 16 seconds.

She says her greatest influence is her husband Neil. Helen attended the University of Central Lancashire and Runshaw College. Her interests outside of athletics include cooking, eating out, watching live music gigs, family and her pet dog. She won a charity event in 2008 which was similar to Strictly Come Dancing where she had to learn the Quick Step and Samba in six weeks.